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M A X I L L A R I A SANDEUIANA Av/,i/
A(t MaxilL-iriii: gran.li Rchb. f.: sc
lo Klaboch repcfta c>
Vivain ijlanlam in tcmpUs Orcliitlaccis Sandcriaiiis ac in pulchc
atlulit nplimus Kil. Klaboch florcmquc viviim habui ah cxc. K. Sanil
>bliisiLscuUim apiculaluni. Folia «ipantia vaginaU nun
:a siiba*iiiali Unccn, ovarium pedicel ¡alum airopiir[jiircuro
atuin acutum. Scpala lalcralia laliora. Tepala obbngi.
idcr ÜC OrcliiJolcgii
in ferne. I'nlliiiaria ill
TiiH first appearance of this magnificent Orchid in flower in Europe was on the occasion of the Orchid Confercncc, held by
the Royal Horticultural Society at South Kensington in May, 1885, when it was exhibited by Baron Schröder, Prom the
evidence afforded by dried speciinens and drawing.s sent home by our collector Edward Kiaboch, we knew we were about
to introduce to cultivation a ^ancl new Orchid, certainly the queen of the genus, grander and more beautiful than
Maxillaria grandirtora and venusta.
It is one of the finest discoveries of Klaboch, who with his brother has been the means of enriching European
gardens from the plant treasures of the tropics. He found it while travelling: in Peru, on the mountains at elevations of
about 4000 feet, hcnce it must be regarded more as a cool house Orchid than a tropical one. Very few plants are
in Europe at present, for out of a large number collected nearly all perished during the long journey from their native
haunts to London, notwithstanding the exceptional skill and ciire bestowed upon their preparation and packing. Owing
to the peculiarly soft nature of the bulbs, the importation of this Orchid must always he attended with ijreal risk and
expense.
The beauty of the plant is so well portrayed in Mr. Moon's drawing that a description of it is not necessary. The
noble fiowers are shown just in the way they are usually borne on the plant, and up to the present little or no variation
lias been detected in either the size or colour of the Ho"'ers. They are always of a beautiful ivory whiteness, adorned with
bold blotches and spots of the richest shades of vinous crimson.
No one is able to speak positively as to the best treatment to give Maxillaria .Sanderiana as it has been such a
short time in this country, but the few who have grown it best speak of it as a i)lant of easy culture «'hen once it has
become well rooted. Imported plants are established with difficulty as they do not possess much vitality; we find It
best, after freeing the bulbs of all decaying parts, to put them in nothing but ¡lotsherds, broken rather fine. They are
then placed in a rather warm and moist house, such as a Cattleya house, and when the bulbs have pushed out roots the
plants should be put in pots or teak-wood baskets, in the usual compost of fibry peat and sphagnum moss. When the
plants are quite established they must be grown in an intermediate house, and allowed abundance of light and air,
especially while forming new bulbs, which takes place during summer, after the flowering season. During winter the
plants must be kept drier, indeed much water should not be given until the peduncles appear from the bases of last
year's bulbs, when the plant requires liberal treatment so as to fully develop the flowers.
Drawn Prom a i>1ant in the passcssion nf Ch. Dorraaii, Ksq., Tiie l-'irs, Syclenhara, near Undon.